Traditional Chinese Martial Arts are a set of very old combat and defense systems that have significantly influenced the rest of martial styles of the world. Formerly referred to as Wǔ Shù* 武術 (“martial arts”) or Guó Shù 國術 (“national arts”), today they are popularly known as Kung Fu 功夫**.
The difference between a martial art and a contact sport is that the martial arts, in addition to constituting a physical training as personal defense systems, also have a strong mental, philosophical and/or spiritual component, and a code of conduct or ethics. The student of martial arts not only learns defense techniques, but is also involved in a process of personal development that affects all areas of his life, making him grow and improve as a person.
Let’s not forget that the Shǎolín 少林 martial arts were means of achieving spiritual realization for the monks.
Notes:
* Nowadays the term Wǔ Shù usually refers to modern Wushu as a competitive sport, rather than as a martial art.
** Although the Chinese word 功夫 can be transcribed as Gōng Fū or as Kung Fu, we will refer with the first term to the skill or mastery that can be developed by both a martial artist and a potter, and with the second to the set of styles and systems of Chinese Martial Arts. Thus, Tài Jí Quán 太極拳 or Tai Chi is also a Kung Fu style.
The rattan shield (téng pái 藤牌) was used in China since the time of the Míng 明 dynasty, especially in the south of the country. It was commonly used in conjunction with a short single-edged sabre (dāo 刀) by both vanguard military units, civilian militias and martial artists.
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We expose some of the reasons why we believe it is beneficial to learn Kung Fu and, also, some others that we do not consider valid.
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In the second half of the twentieth century, the so-called modern wǔ shù was officially established. Characterized by flashy and difficult-to-execute acrobatic movements, but devoid of any martial use, this new wǔ shù led to an era in which exhibition martial arts of would gain ground to the traditional ones. However, these exhibition arts had been present in China for several hundred years.
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When Chan Heung 陳享 founded the Choy Li Fut 蔡李佛 system, he also established ten rules of conduct to guide all practitioners of the style. These rules constitute the code of conduct (武德, wǔ dé/mou dak) of Choy Li Fut. The ten rules are the following.
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According to the theory of Tài Jí Quán 太極拳, this martial arts system uses eight types of energy or strength (jìn 勁). This word refers to an energy cultivated by the practitioner in a specialized manner, that is, it is the result of a prolonged training, as well as the combination between physical energy, 力 lì, and internal energy, 氣 qì.
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The Sup Bot Law Hon Yik Gun Kuen 十八羅漢易筋 拳 is a form of Qi Gong 氣功 belonging to the Luohan system of Choy Li Fut. It is believed that the exercises contained in this form were taught by Bodhidharma to the monks of Shaolin temple to counteract the numbness of the body caused by long hours sitting in meditation.
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At the end of the decade of 1920, Choy Li Fut 蔡李佛 arrived at the American continent by the hand of Master Lau Bun 劉彬, who opened the first school in San Francisco.
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Dit Da Jow 跌打 酒 (Mandarin Diē Dǎ Jiǔ) is the Cantonese name for a type of liniment commonly used in Chinese Martial Arts to treat bruises and sore muscles. Dit Da Jow could be translated as “fall and hit wine”, since the traditional one is prepared with rice wine.
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The spear (枪, qiāng/choeng) is considered in China as the queen of long weapons. Possibly it is the oldest military weapon in China, and was originally used as a cavalry weapon. Formerly the infantry used a spear that could reach more than five meters in length, thus being able to face adversaries at a long distance.
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In Chinese Martial Arts, the figure of the teacher is of vital importance, since anyone who wants to learn a martial art needs a teacher to transmit the teaching. In the West, many times the role of the teacher is misinterpreted; to understand it better, we must first examine the figure of the teacher in the religious tradition of China.
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